Ethan's question – Ethan's fucking question – had caused Silver to storm off with Sneasel by his side. Lyra giggled as the ice-type flitted alongside his master, clearly aggravated by the recent turn of events. She clamped her hands over her mouth to stop the laughter from overflowing but Ethan's scowl sent her over the edge. She tumbled sideways off her best friend's bed, giggles filling the silence between the two boys.

"What's your problem now?" Silver shouted. He turned around and huffed back into the room, folding his arms over his chest when he stopped. "Well?"

"I don't," Lyra was struggling to catch a breath. She bit down hard on her bottom lip, knowing fully well that she couldn't keep a straight face for long. "That was such an extreme reaction, I can't…" She dissolved into another fit of laughter before she could finish her sentence.

"I only asked if you wanted to come trick or treating with us, man," Ethan said when he realised that Lyra was a lost cause. "And I only asked because she said I should. You're coming anyway."

"No I'm fucking not."

"Yeah you fucking are."

"No I'm fucking not," Silver repeated, glowering at his two friends. The glare only caused Lyra to bury her head in her hands; he could still hear her giggling. Ethan picked something up at threw it at him – the black fabric hit him in the face. He picked it up in a fist and threw it back. "The fuck was that?"

"Your costume. We picked it out because we knew you wouldn't bring one," Ethan explained, throwing the shirt back to Silver again. This time he caught it, but after taking a closer look he threw it to the ground, his expression blank.

"I'm not wearing that."

"Just put it on."

"No!"

"Look, it's already late. All the neighbours will run out of candy if we don't hurry up."

"You don't need any fucking candy," Silver snapped.

"Hey, low blow. Just put the shirt on and you can bitch about it later, okay?"

"You two go. I'll wait here."

"No way, hurry up, man," Ethan was starting to sound impatient. Silver looked to Lyra for support but she just shrugged and grinned. He rolled his eyes, but peeled off his shirt and swapped it for the one Ethan had thrown at him. He picked it up from the floor and slipped it over his head, taking a moment to run a hand over the capital R emblazoned on the chest.

"Just so you know, I hate you both."

"Yeah, you keep telling yourself that," Ethan clapped him on the back as he walked past, heading for the stairs. "Now hurry up!"

"Don't make me go," Silver said. Lyra stood up from the floor, trying to look serious. Her giggles had died down but she was still having a difficult time keeping a straight face.

"It'll be fun," she said. "You've done this before, right?"

"Once."

"Once?"

"I was four."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"So this will be fun!"

"Yeah, okay," Silver agreed eventually; she wasn't going to change her mind any time soon.

"Here, put this on too," she added, handing him a black cap.

"Whose idea was this?"

"You think he'd think up something this clever?"

"I hate you more than him then."

"Why?" Lyra's face fell a little at his words; she'd thought that a Rocket Grunt was the perfect costume for him. It was one that had been popular enough the last few years, and she had been sure he would see the humour in it. He brushed his hair back then put the cap on, glancing over at his reflection in the window to make sure it was straight.

"Because this shirt itches."

"It's only for a few hours!"

"My real shirts never itched," he added.

"Wait, what?"

"Nothing," Silver muttered. He grabbed Lyra by the elbow and dragged her out of the room, clearly eager to get the evening over and done with as soon as possible.